


Alone At Night

by YellowAndVeritablyBonaFide



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Cute, Daddy!Arthur, M/M, Modern AU, Protective!Arthur, cgl, little!merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 16:06:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21358954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowAndVeritablyBonaFide/pseuds/YellowAndVeritablyBonaFide
Summary: Merlin gets stranded in town late at night with no way of getting home. He calls his daddy to come get him. Arthur picks him up and suggests Merlin get a reward for being such a good boy. Merlin picks one that they haven’t tried before. With Arthur being unsure at first, how will it go?
Relationships: Merlin/ Arthur Pendragon
Comments: 20
Kudos: 171
Collections: The Escapades of Little!Merlin and his Caregiver!Arthur





	Alone At Night

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve noticed that the Merlin fandom is pretty barren of cgl. 
> 
> Tell me what you like, what you don’t and what you think :)

“A-Arthur,” Merlin stutters into the phone, trying to quell the panic rising in him. “C-can you come get me, please? I’m in town, still.”

Merlin hates bothering Arthur. Ever since Arthur found Merlin that day while he was in little mode, things had been different. And while he appreciates that Arthur never tells him that he’s a bother, Merlin knows he is. It’s almost midnight and Arthur is with his friends. He must have been having such a great time and Merlin is so pathetic that he has to interrupt him.

Merlin doesn’t know where he is. His friends left him at a car park and he saw some strange looking people so he left. Now, he’s standing under a lit street lamp next to an empty A-road. With no cars and no people; it feels safe. A comforting kind of emptiness that only comes after tears have been wept and there is nothing left to say. The cloudless sky looms above Merlin as he shivers and clutches his coat tighter to himself.

“I thought your friends were gonna give you a lift back,” Arthur says. He’s already grabbing his wallet and keys and waving a quick goodbye to everyone.

Merlin feels the kick in his gut. He is interrupting Arthur’s night. He can’t even do one thing right. He tried hard to be independent tonight.

Arthur had been watching a football match with his friends at Gwaine’s apartment. He thought it would be good to do while Merlin was out with his friends in town. Merlin mentioned something about messing around and going out for dinner.

“They-they were b-but they... it turns out they had already taken up all the seats in the— in the car,” Merlin explains, tears welling in his eyes. “So I said I would get the bus but they’re all out of service.” His voice wavers and tears cascade down his cheeks. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

Arthur pauses. “Are you alone right now?” He asks. His voice is dangerous.

His baby is all on his own in the middle of town with no way of getting home. Everything is shut apart from nightclubs; meaning. there will be drunks wandering around. The town  at this time  of night is not a safe place to be. Especially not for Merlin.

“Uh... yeah.” He admits. “I know you said to never be alone at night and I tried to stay with them. I thought I had it all figured out but I— but I—,” Merlin bursts into tears.

Arthur sighs; his heart breaking at the sound of Merlin crying. “Okay, honey, I’m coming to get you. Where are you right now?”

“I... I don’t know. I’m  really  scared, daddy.”

Arthur’s care giver instincts  are initiated. He sprints down the steps of his Gwaine’s apartment building. It’s a special kind of fear that fills him; it starts as numb extremities. He can’t feel as his feet pound the pavement or how his fingers fumble for his keys. In turn, that turns to a fiery power that transcends protectiveness.

“You’re okay, gorgeous.” Arthur assures him. “What can you see?”

“There’s a carpark. And there’s a music instrument shop. And— and there’s a bus stop next to me and there’s a building with red shutters over the doors and... and the windows  are lined  with red, too.” Merlin explains, trying to see through his tears. He’s all alone on the street and it worries him. Anything could happen.

“Okay, baby  I think  I know where you are. Turn the corner to your left and there should be Primark.” Arthur instructs. He runs through the car park and jumps in his car.

Merlin follows the instructions and tries to control his breathing. “I-okay... yeah. There is.”

“Okay, good boy, you’re doing so well for me. Tell me exactly where you are stood.” Arthur puts his seatbelt on one handed and starts the car.

“Standing outside the big Primark. Next to the shutters.” Merlin remembers Arthur saying something about standing at entrances. Something about  being seen by  many people.. He assumes it’s the same even if the shop  is closed.

“Okay, gorgeous, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Don’t talk to anyone, don’t make eye contact with anyone and if anyone approaches you then run.” Arthur has to calm his own heart before driving so he doesn’t  accidentally  run anyone off the road.

“Okay.” Merlin says, sniffling.

“Good boy.”  
  


•

Arthur pulls up outside of Primark (in a bus lane but let’s not talk about that). Then he calls Merlin into the car through the open window. Merlin opens the door and looks at Arthur before sitting inside. Arthur once told him to do that  just  to be safe and Merlin wants to make his daddy proud.

Arthur undoes his seat belt and pulls Merlin onto his lap. He doesn’t say anything for a while, squeezing Merlin with his face buried in his neck. He needs to ground himself and know that Merlin is safe in his arms. After a little while, he lets go and taps Merlin’s bum to tell him to move back over. He does and they both belt up.

Safe inside Arthur’s car with smooth, leather seats and the smell of his daddy - Merlin can kind of relax. Merlin knows enough about his daddy to know that a set jaw is a bad sign. If that’s not clue enough, then the way he careers around corners is. Daddy is mad at him so he curls up into a ball - knees to chest - and keeps his eyes low so he won’t look at Arthur and start sobbing.

Merlin’s night had been going so well. He had met up with Gwen and Lancelot with a few other common friends. No one told him that some friends of those friends that Merlin didn’t know would be coming so that was a surprise. They shopped for a bit, he waited outside of the changing room Gwen was in and helped her decide what to buy. It was inevitable that got dragged into the changing room to help her into some clothes. He didn’t mind but he kinda wished the cute guy in the next changing room would smirk at him. (Not that it matters as he’s only got eyes for a certain care giver). Merlin saw Gwen’s bralette and said how pretty it was. She  obviously  saw through him and promised that they would go buy some together another time. She’s his closest friend (along eith Arthur) as they went to school together. So there’s not a single thing she doesn’t know about him; this includes his fondness for feminine clothes.

Then they’d gone to dinner at some Italian place and Merlin sat with Gwen and Lancelot. They had to leave early due to a flight the next morning. That left Merlin with his close friends and some strangers. He endeavoured to make friends with the new comers but they didn’t try to hide that they didn’t like him. His friends couldn’t pick up on it. But that’s because most of them were gruff men who don’t pick up on the passive aggressive compliments. One of the new people hadn’t brought her purse and - because he  was tired  and a little regressed - he paid for her dinner.

That same woman was the one who took his seat in the car. convincing Elyan that she had messaged him to say she needed a lift. Elyan scanned his messages, gave Merlin a whispered apology and accepted her lies. Elyan had a crush on her. Typical. Merlin knew then that he’d have to lie to Gwen or she’d commit fratricide. Elyan doesn’t exactly know about Merlin’s age regression so it wasn’t his fault. To be fair, Merlin wouldn’t feel right about leaving this girl out in the dark and cold. She’d be even more vulnerable than he was.

“Daddy... are you mad at me?” Merlin whispers. He  really  doesn’t want Arthur to be angry; Merlin  really  tried to be good tonight.

Arthur relaxes at the quiet words, taking a tense hand off the steering wheel to place it on Merlin’s knee. “No, baby. It’s not your fault and you did so well for me tonight.” He rubs his thumb in circles until he has to move it to change gear as they merge onto the motorway. “In fact,” Arthur smiles as he returns his hand to Merlin’s knee. “ I think  you deserve a treat for being such a good little boy.”

At this, Merlin gasps. “Really? Thank you, daddy!”

Arthur takes his hand back so he can actually use it for driving. He’s comforted by the knowledge that Merlin  is distracted by  the promise of a treat. It’s definitely not Merlin’s fault that his friends are assholes. It’s not safe for such a pretty little boy to be out on his own so late.

“Of course, kitten, what would you like? You can pick anything from the list.” Arthur promises.

Merlin widens his eyes and claps in joy; already falling into his headspace. “Anything?” He repeats, hardly believing his ears.

“Anything.” Arthur confirms.

Merlin rememberers everything on the list - the punishments but the treats especially. He flicks through the rolladex of good things and picks one. It’s one that he’s not tried to redeem yet seeing as  normally  daddy picks the reward. And tonight seems like a good night for it but... but it is almost eleven at night and if he chooses ‘_spend the night with daddy’ _then he’s missing out on a few hours of cuddles. He bites his lip. But he wants cuddles right now. It’s worth it.

“Uh, daddy?” Merlin asks, voice quiet and wavering.

Arthur glances over to the diffident boy with a curious frown. ”Yes, sweetheart?”

“Can I...” Merlin struggles with the words to ask. He’s overcome with shyness. “I know what I want... Can I sleep in your bed tonight? With you?”

Arthur’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. He didn’t think Merlin would ever want that. They only put it on the list because Merlin found it on Pinterest and thought it would look good on the page. For structure, of course, Merlin insisted.

“You sure? You don’t want to wait until we get home so you can look at the list?” He asks, as a precaution. He wouldn’t mind sleeping with Merlin, it would be quite nice to have someone else to make his bed warm.

Merlin looks over with big eyes and bitten lips. “I don’t have to sleep in your bed if you don’t want to. I can pick another one.” He says, reading between the lines.

Arthur realises his mistake. “No, no, baby. That’s not what I meant. Of course you can sleep with me tonight.” He reaches over and squeezes his knee to solidify his reassurance.

•

“Can I has apple juice?” Merlin asks. He’s sitting on the kitchen floor and leaning against his daddy’s leg while Arthur grabs a mug from the cupboard.

Arthur cards his fingers through Merlin’s hair. “No, gorgeous, it’s too late for that much sugar.” His voice is soft with the light chastise; careful not to upset the poor little. He’s been through enough today.

Merlin pouts so Arthur uses his first finger and thumb to squeeze his lips  gently  into a horizontal line. Merlin tries not to laugh but can’t keep a lid on his giggles. His lips escape Arthur’s grasp as they move to let the sound out. Arthur smiles and gets the milk out of the fridge. He fills up the mug and puts it in the microwave - set for a two minutes.

“Okay, baby, we’re gonna go get you into some comfy pjs and get your teeth brushed. Then we’re gonna get into bed and you’ll drink your warm milk and we’ll cuddle and go to sleep. That sound good to you?” Arthur says, watching the boy rub his face against his thigh.

Arthur only gets a mumbled affirmative as an answer. If it was any other time then Arthur would coax the words out of him. But, looking at the clock, it’s almost midnight so he can’t blame Merlin for not talking.

He helps Merlin off the floor and takes his hand, guiding him to Merlin’s bedroom. He helps Merlin into his cow onesie; zipping it up even though the boy said he could do it himself. They walk into the bathroom so Arthur can brush Merlin’s teeth for him - another little thing that keeps him little. On a normal day, from here, he would put Merlin to bed and read him a story.

“I’m going to go get your milk, you go into my bedroom and pick a side of the bed.” Arthur says, placing his hand on the small of Merlin’s back to encourage him towards the room.

Arthur’s phone vibrates in his his pocket: Gwaine. Arthur assumes this is to check up on Merlin. He’s the only one of Arthur’s friends who knows about Merlin’s little tendencies. He couldn’t have been nicer about it when Merlin told him. He had  merely  inquired about the glitter he’d seen on Merlin’s face and the boy had admitted that he was crafting. The truth unraveled itself out of Merlin’s mouth and before he knew it Gwaine was promising not to tell anyone. He wasn’t the best with keeping himself out of trouble but keeping Merlin safe and happy is his top priority. If Gwaine hadn’t seen the way Arthur’s eyes always linger a little too long on Merlin, then he would have asked Merlin out. He quite fancied this whole ‘daddy’ thing.

“Hey, Gwaine.” Arthur greets, continuing towards the kitchen.

“How’s Merlin?” Is the immediate response. Arthur rolls his eyes and, even though he can’t see it, Gwaine knows that he does it.

Arthur lets out a chuckle, “Wow, Gwaine! I’m great, thank you for asking. It’s always a pleasure to receive your call and know you care about me.” Sometimes people call Arthur dramatic. Quite  frankly , he doesn’t see it.

“Shut up, princess. How’s my little prince?” Gwaine sighs but Arthur can hear the smirk.

The well intentioned joke makes Arthur twist his mouth as he replies. _“My_ little prince is  just  fine. His friends left him alone in town, though, so I’m trying to quell my homicidal thoughts.”

Gwaine is definitely smirking now. “Yeah? And how’s that going?”

Arthur grimaces. “Not well. If Merlin ever invites them ‘round, I’m not sure I’ll manage to keep the knives in the draws.”

Gwaine laughs and he hears some rustling on the line. _Crisps_. Typical. He always eats salty food when he drinks. Once, they went clubbing with Merlin and he ended up licking Merlin and telling him he was delicious. This put Merlin straight into little space so they had to leave. The poor boy apologised  profusely  for it in the morning, saying that he’d ruined Arthur’s night as he always does. That day had included a lot of reassurances.

“Well, if you ever need a partner in crime - you know you only have to say.” Gwaine then gasps. “We should come up with a code word in case you do actually want to kill them and we have to be subtle!”

Arthur smiles at his enthusiasm.  “How about ‘operation: kill  all of  Merlin’s friends apart from Gwen and Lancelot because they are nice and I like them’.” He suggests. “It has a nice ring to it.”

“Yeah, yeah, but I was thinking more  along the lines of  ‘tranquillise Merlin’s wolves’.” Gwaine suggests.

Arthur isn’t quite sure if he’s being serious or not so decides to laugh and end the conversation. He’s much too tired to deal with Gwaine. “Whatever you want, mate. Thanks for calling but I’ll speak to you more tomorrow. I have a reward to give him.”

“No problem, Arthur. Glad Merlin’s okay. Send him my love. Goodnight!” Gwaine says.

Arthur hears the crunch of a crisp then the line shuts off.

After pocketing his phone his phone, he tests the temperature of Merlin’s milk. It’s gone a little cold so he decides to put it back in for another thirty seconds. This gives him time to prepare himself. He’s not slept in the same bed as someone else in a platonic way since he was a child. It’s going to be a somewhat new experience. He knows Merlin will want to cuddle up and Arthur wants that more than anything tonight. He needs to have his baby boy in his arms so he knows he’s safe.

He stops the microwave at one second; a force of habit he’s picked up since living with Merlin. He doesn’t like the loud noise. He carries the milk into his bedroom to see Merlin on the right side of the bed, leaving Arthur with his normal side. He’s thankful. Merlin  probably  did that on purpose - the thoughtful little sod.

The room is lit up by the bedside lamp on Arthur’s side. It baths Merlin in a gorgeous soft light and, as he’s all snuggled into the duvet, he looks like he could actually be a child.

“Here you go, my little moo.” He smiles, putting Merlin’s milk on the bedside table next to the boy.

Merlin giggles at the nickname - it’s one of his favourites. Arthur only calls him that when he’s wearing the cow onesie so he makes it a priority to wear it as much as possible.

“Thank you, daddy.” Merlin whispers. He sits up and waits for Arthur to get settled so the bed doesn’t shake while he’s trying to drink.

Merlin struggles to drink, as it is, in his headspace let alone with the battle against a moving floor.

“Do you need help, little one?” Arthur asks and, even though he’s not sure he does, Merlin nods. “Okay, give it to me then.”

Merlin hands the mug over and settles against Arthur’s chest as they lean against the headboard. Arthur wraps his arm around Merlin and puts the mug to his lips letting him take sips.

As Merlin drinks, Arthur praises him  gently. “Good boy, such a good little moo. You did so well for me today. I’m  really  proud of you.”

Merlin breaks to lick some milk that has trickled down his chin. “You we’re gone for a long time.” He points out. So long that Merlin thought he was regretting his decision of sleeping with him.

“Oh, I’m sorry, baby.” Arthur says, petting Merlin’s hair.. “Gwaine called to check up on you.”

Merlin gasps and looks up to Arthur with a milk moustache. “Really?”

Arthur chuckles and wipes it off with his sleeve. A tiny, estranged part of his brain says to do it with his lips so he quashes that immediately.

“Yeah. You know how he is. So protective over you.” Arthur says, trying not to notice how his heart pangs with hurt.

Merlin giggles. “Yeah! I love Gwaine.” He laughs into his milk which causes bubbles to form and it distracts him as he tries to make more.

“And Gwaine loves you, too.” Arthur watches Merlin almost  wistfully  for a second before he goes back into daddy mode. “Come on, little moo, drink it  sensibly.”

Merlin giggles as Arthur wipes off the mess he’s made with the popping bubbles all over his face. His sleeve  carefully  brushes his face so as not to harm the  wonderfully  soft skin there.

Merlin catches Arthur off guard,  just  as he’s booping his nose. “I love you more, though. You’re my favourite.”

Arthur  frantically  wants to ask him ‘favourite what!’ but he doesn’t let that through his lips. Instead, he revels in the new found information.

“You’re my favourite, too.” He admits. It’s completely true. It doesn’t have to be specific. Merlin is  probably  his favourite person in the world. His favourite collection of cells in the solar system.

Merlin finishes and puts the mug back on the bedside table. They get settled with their heads on the pillows and Merlin snuggles into Arthur’s chest. He’s so happy here. This is definitely his favourite reward.

“You did so well today, baby.” Arthur praises. “I’m so proud of you.”

Merlin looks up to him with wide eyes. “Really?”

“ Really. I’m so glad you called me. That was an excellent idea.” Arthur cards his fingers through Merlin’s soft locks.

Merlin pushes his head into Arthur’s hands like a cat and purrs, “Thank you, daddy. For picking me up and not being mad.”

“I’ll never be mad at you for something that happens through no fault of your own.” Arthur promises. “I will be having strong words with Elyan tomorrow.”

Merlin’s eyes blow wide. “Please don’t, daddy!” He begs. “There was a girl who didn’t have a way of getting home so he took her. Daddy, she was even more vulnerable than I was - she didn’t even have her purse!”

Arthur frowns. “Then how did she pay for dinner?”

Merlin blushes and it reaches his ears in the way it always does when he’s caught red-handed. “I paid, daddy.”

Arthur sighs and laments Merlin’s good heart. “That was very nice of you, but you’re not to do it again. She left her purse on purpose and assumed someone would pick up after her.”

Merlin nods into Arthur’s chest. “I know, daddy, but I didn’t know what else to do. I... she was looking at me like... Like...”

“Like a dog at a shelter?” Arthur offers. Merlin gives him to exact same look when he wants something.

“Yeah! But like... after I bought her she’d bite me.” Merlin mumbles dejectedly.

Arthur gives a deep sigh which moves Merlin’s head up and down with his chest. “Okay, little moo. I don’t want you to spend any more time with her.”

“Me neither.” Merlin admits with a glint in his eye.

“Anyway, we should go to sleep now. You’ve had a tiring day.” Arthur says, only getting a hum of agreement.

Arthur turns the lamp off and feels Merlin cling to him a little tighter. He pulls Merlin close and lets the boy snuggle up to him even more. This might be Arthur’s favourite reward.


End file.
